Preformed manhole body

ABSTRACT

A manhole body which is preformed of plastic or concrete and reinforced to withstand the weight exerted by the ground and outside sources of water, which manhole body may be of a size and shape to fit on a sewer line of any size and depth, with the sleeve extending to the surface so as to give access into the manhole body which has a suitable cover therefor. The manhole bodies are of unitary, tapered construction and are so designed as to fit in telescoped relation to conserve room during shipping or storage. Transverse semi-circular notches are formed in the lower side of each manhole body so as to fit the upper contour of a sewer line, so when a cementitious material, such as concrete, is poured to seal the bottom and sides of the manhole, the top portion of the sewer line, above the concrete, may be broken away to provide a sewage outlet from the manhole body and access to the sewer line admit cleaning tools.

United States Patent [19.1

Crawford et a]. 51 Feb. 13, 1973 [54] PREFORMED MANHOLE BODY [57] ABSTRACT lnvemofsl David North A manhole body which is preformed of plastic or Oak Street, Mineral wens, concrete and reinforced. to withstand the weight ex- 76067; J Ellington, 4105 erted by the ground and outside sources of water, Kingbury, Wichita Falls 7630? which manhole body may be of a size and shape to fit [22] Filed; Jam 19, 1971 on a sewer line of any size and depth, with the sleeve extending to the surface so as to give access into the [21] Appl' 107,776 manhole body which has a suitable cover therefor.

The manhole bodies are of unitary, tapered construc- [52] US. Cl ..52/21 tion and are so designed as to fit in telescope'd relation [51] Int. Cl. ..E02d 29/14 to on er r om during shipping or storage. Trans- [58] Field of Search ..94/34, 31.1, 31.3; 52/20, 21; verse semi-circular notches are formed in the lower 137/363, 370, 364 side of each manhole body so as to fit the upper contour of a sewer line, so when a cementitious material, [56] References Cited such as concrete, is poured to seal the bottom and sides of the manhole, the top portion of the sewer line, UNITED'STATES PATENTS above the concrete, may be broken away to provide a 1,793,038 2 1931 Zimmermann ..94/34 w ge outlet from he manhole body and access to 3,548,864 12/1970 Handley ..137/364 the sewer line admit cleaning tools.

821,675 5/1906 Shaw ....94/31.1 X 3,499,413 3/1970 Heard ..94/1.5 X 6 Claims, 11 Drawing Figures Primary Examiner-Nile C. Byers, Jr. Attorney-Wayland D. Keith PATENTED FEB 1 3 I975 SHEET 10F 2 ge FIG INVENTORS DAVID D. CRAWFORD BY JOHN w ELVINGTON l a I 9% m4 HEIR GEN PATENTEDFEB13 I975 SHEET 2 OF 2 32 FIG 9 FIG IO INVENTORS DAVID D. CRAWFORD y JOHN W. ELVINGTON PREFORMED MANHOLE BODY BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to manhole bodies, and particularly to manhole bodies which may be molded or formed of unitary construction, preferably at a factory, for shipment or distribution to the point of use.

It is desirable to provide a manhole body which can be readily set in proper position at the place of use with a minimum adaptation, and which is simple and inexpensive in construction, yet sturdy and reliable in operation and which will require a minimum of maintenance.

It is difficult to construct, at the place of use, a manhole body incorporating the above mentioned design characteristics. Prior manhole bodies, for the most part, were constructed at the point of use, usually of brick, which required brick masons who occasionally had to work under adverse weather conditions and with cavey ground conditions, and was dangerous to the life of the artisans working below the surface of the ground, which made the building of manhole bodies on location undesirable and expensive.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A manhole body as constructed in a mold or in a form so a multiplicity of manhole bodies of the desired size may be manufactured on a production type basis.

The manhole body is preferably constructed with an upwardly and inwardly tapered end of plastic reinforced with fiber glass or concrete reinforced with steel, such as wire mesh. The manhole bodies, for the greater part of the length thereof, are in the shape of a truncated polygonal pyramid or cone which tapers in to a cylindrical ring so a sleeve may extend from the body to a point near the surface of the terrain so a manhole cover can be fitted on the upper end of the sleeve.

The invention, as shown in each form thereof, is so tapered as to receive another manhole body thereinto for the greater portion of the length, thereby enabling the storing or shipping of the manhole bodies in a minimum of space.

Each of the manhole bodies has transversely arranged semi-circular notches in the lower side thereof, which notches correspond in size to the size of the sewer line on which the manhole body is to be fitted. When the manhole body is fitted on a sewer line, a cementitious material, such as concrete, is poured thereinto and therearound to form a water tight closure in the bottom thereof, covering approximately the lower half of the diameter of the sewer line and concrete is poured around the manhole body so as to unite with the cementitious material or concrete in the manhole body s o as to anchor the manhole against movement.

One form of the invention is shown to be polygonal in shape, like a truncated pyramid, and the other is shown to be round in shape like truncated cone. Either can be made of fiber glass or either can be made of concrete. The upper end of each manhole body is cylindrical to receive an adapter ring so a sleeve may extend to a point near the surface of the terrain, where a conventional manhole flange and cover are installed.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION An object of the invention is to provide a preconstructed manhole body for use on sewer lines, which manhole body may be readily set in place on a sewer line without having to construct the manhole body at the site of use.

Another object of the invention is to provide a manhole body which is constructed of plastic, reinforced with fiber glass, which is light in weight, easy to install with a minimum of workmen, and which will withstand considerable external and internal pressure.

A further object of the invention is to provide a manhole body which is polygonal in shape and which tapers upwardly and inwardly so that the angular construction gives rigidity and strength to the manhole body.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide a manhole body that tapers upwardly and inwardly and which is adapted to receive a complementary manhole body thereinto in telescoped relation to enable a multiplicity of manhole bodies to occupy a minimum of space while being stored or shipped.

A further object of the invention is to provide a manhole body which may be installed on a sewer line at any depth, and with which a standardized sleeve may be used to connect with an adapter ring at the upper end of the manhole body, thereby enabling the manhole body to be used under a variety of conditions and at varying depths.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS With these objects in mind and others which will become manifest as the description proceeds, reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters designate like parts in the several views thereof in which:

FIG. I is an elevational view of the manhole body with parts broken away and shown in section, showing the manhole body installed within the earth and as seated upon a sewer line, with the upper end joining a sleeve which extends into close proximity to the surface of the terrain, and showing a manhole flange and cover fitted on the upper end of the sleeve;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the manhole body, as shown in FIG. 1, the pavement and earth not being shown, to show the construction of the manhole body;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary, perspective view of an adapter flange for the upper end of the sleeve with extends upwardly from the manhole body;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary view of a portion of an adapter ring, which enables the joining of the manhole to a sleeve;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken on line 55 of FIG. 1, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows;

FIG. 6 is a view of a plurality of manhole bodies, some in cross section and some in elevation, on a reduced scale, to show how the bodies will next in telescoped relation;

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. I, but of the modified form of the invention, which utilizes a truncated conical, reinforced concrete body;

FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 2, but of the form of the invention as shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken on line 9-? of FIG. 7, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows;

FIG. is an elevational view, on a reduced scale, of a plurality of concrete manhole bodies nested together in telescoped relation with one being shown in elevation and two being shown in longitudinal section; and

FIG. 11 is an enlarged fragmentary view through the wall of one of the concrete manhole bodies.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION With more detailed reference to the drawings, the numeral 1 designates generally a sewer line on which a manhole body 2 is fitted in straddled relation, as will best be seen in FIG. 1. The manhole body 2, which is preferably made of plastic reinforced with fiber glass, converges, for the greater portion of its length, upwardly and inwardly to a shoulder 4, which is made integral with a portion 6 which converges and connects with a cylindrical neck 8 to form a manhole body which straddles over the sewer line so that the notched openings 10 in the lower side of the manhole body will fit the outer diameter of the pipe, preparatory to pouring a cementitious bottom 12 therein. The bottom 12 is usually poured to about half the diameter of sewer pipe 1, except at certain portions around the wall, the cementitious material, which is usually concrete, has a ridge-like portion 14 formed to cover the sewer pipe 1, as will best be seen in FIGS. 1 and 5. The cement is allowed to surround the exterior of the manhole body 2 so as to form a liquid tight structure when the cementitious material has set.

It is preferable to make the manhole body 2 of paneled sections 16, with polygonal faces of sufficient width so that inlet sewer pipes 18 can be brought into the manhole body substantially perpendicular to the face thereof. 1

Having the manhole body tapered slightly, enables the ready removal of these from the molds, and furthermore enables the nesting of the manhole bodies in multiple lots to enable the storage or shipment of these in a minimum of space, as will be evident in FIG. 6.

An adapter ring or fitting 20 is of such size to be in close fitting relation around manhole body neck 8 and which adapter ring has a recess in the upper side thereof to receive a sleeve 22, which sleeve may be made of a suitable material, such as metal, plastic reinforced with fiber glass, or the like. A manhole flange 24 is fitted on the upper end of sleeve 22 and is adapted to receive a complementary flange 26, which complementary flange is recessed to receive a conventional manhole cover 28. These flanges may be bolted together, as indicated at 30 and a pavement or sidewalk 32 may be so poured as to be flush with the top of manhole cover 28.

The manhole body 2 may be made in sizes to accommodate the needs of any size sewer line, however, a few standardized sizes may be made to cover a wide range of sewer line adaptations, and if one sewer line is of greater depth than another sewer line, the length of the sleeve 22 may be varied and still give the advantages of mass production of manhole bodies without having to build these on the job, under adverse weather conditions, and by skilled artisans. By having a manhole body thus constructed, it can be readily set in place and a cement 12 poured to cover the bottom and the outer portions of the bottom of the manhole body, as will best be seen in FIGS. 1 and 5, and when the cement is properly set, a hole 34 may be broken in the sewer line within the manhole body, so as to enable clean-out devices to be inserted therethrough. Also, the sewage passing into the manhole body from lateral sewer lines 18 will pass out through this hole and down through the sewer line in the same manner as in manhole bodies constructed on the job of brick, concrete, or the like.

MODIFIED FORM OF THE INVENTION A modified form of the invention, as shown in FIGS. 7 through 1 l, is constructed of reinforced concrete and is adapted to seat on a sewer line 41 in straddled relation in substantially the same manner as the aforementioned form of the invention. However, the body of the manhole generally designated by the numeral 42 converges upwardly and inwardly at a slight angle to a shoulder 44, whereas the conical portion 46 converges inwardly more abruptly to join with a cylindrical neck 48. Transversely notched openings 50 are provided in the lower side thereof and are substantially semi-circular in shape so as to seat on sewer line 41 in close fitting relation so a bottom of cementitious material, such as concrete, as indicated at 52, may be poured into the bottom of the manhole body 42 to fill the lower end thereof and cover the lower portion of sever pipe 41, as will best be seen in FIGS. 7 and 9:

The cementitious material 52 flows outward and upward around the lower end of the manhole body 42 so as to form a liquid tight seal at the lower end thereof and the cementitious material covers the sewer pipe 41 with a ridge of cementitious material 54 formed to ensure tight sealing around the sewer pipe 41. The cylindrical body of the manhole 42, which tapers upwardly and inwardly at a slight degree, has reinforcing members 56 therein, as will best be seen in FIGS. 1, 9 and 1 l, which enables these to be handled with a minimum of breakage. These manhole bodies are tapered so as to nest, as shown in FIG. 10, so a minimum of space is required for shipping or storing.

Inlet openings into the sewer manhole body 42 may be readily cut in face thereof to enable sewer inlet pipes 58 to be connected therewith.

An adapter ring 60, which is annular in construction, has an annular recess on each side thereof, one which recess fits on the neck 48 of the manhole body and a sleeve 62 is adapted to fit within the annular recess in the upper portion of the annular ring 60, which sleeve extends upward and interconnects with a flanged ring 64 which is seated on the upper end of sleeve 62. In this manner, the main sewer manhole body 42 may be seated on a sewer line 41 at the desired depth and the sleeve 62 provided to enable the flanged ring 64 to be seated on top thereof. A further flanged ring 66 is fitted on flanged ring 64, which further flanged ring 66 is adapted to receive a manhole cover 68. The flanged rings 24 and 26 may be bolted together by bolts 70, if so desired, and the entire structure made so as to be flush with the surface of a pavement 32, or the like. After the manhole body is fitted in place and the concrete or other cementitious material is set, a hole 74 may be broken in the upper portion of sewer pipe 41 within the manhole body so as to admit sewage from inlet laterals 58 into sewer 41. Further more, the hole 74 provides access for clean-out tools to be run into the sewer line to maintain the sewer line in open condition.

What is claimed is: l. A unitary, reconstructed manhole body comprisa. a unitary body, whichbody is hollow and is formed of moldable material,

1. said unitary body having a lower portion, the lower portion of said unitary, hollow-body being inclined upwardly and inwardly throughout the entire length thereof,-

2. the lower portion of said unitary, hollow body being open and having opposed notched formed therein to straddle a pipe,

3. said unitary body having an upper portion, the lower end of which is joined in unitary relation with the upper end of said lower portion of said unitary, hollow body,

4. said upper, unitary hollow body portion converging upwardly and inwardly from the juncture with said lower body portion,

b. the upper end of said unitary hollow body portion having a hollow, cylindrical neck portion joined in unitary relation with the upper end of said upper body portion,

1. said upper portion of said body being adapted to support a fitting for a man hole cover,

c. an annular connecting ring fitted on the upper end of said cylindrical neck portion,

d. a sleeve interfitted with said ring and extending upwardly to a position near the surface of the terrain, and

e. a man hole cover flange fitted on the upper end of said sleeve. 2. A unitary, preconstructed manhole body as defined in claim 1; wherein a. said lower body portion, said upper neck portion and said converging portion between the lower body portion and the cylindrical neck portion have reinforcing material therein. 3. A unitary, preconstructed manhole body as defined in claim 1; wherein a. said lower portion of said hollow body and said converging portion between said lower body portion and said neck postion being polygonal in cross section, with said lower body portion and said converging portion adapted to receive other manhole body portions in nested relation. 4. A unitary, preconstructed manhole body as defined in claim 1; wherein a. said unitary, molded, hollow body is molded of plastic reinforced with fiber glass. 5. A unitary, preconstructed manhole body as defined in claim 2; wherein a. said unitary, molded body is of concrete. 6. A unitary, preconstructed manhole body as defined in claim 1; wherein a. a cementions material is filled into the lower end of said body to form a fluid tight seal therewith and with said pipe, and b. the pipe has an opening formed therein within the walls of said body. 

1. A unitary, reconstructed manhole body comprising; a. a unitary body, which body is hollow and is formed of moldable material,
 1. said unitary body having a lower portion, the lower portion of said unitary, hollow body being inclined upwardly and inwardly throughout the entire length thereof,
 2. the lower portion of said unitary, hollow body being open and having opposed notched formed therein to straddle a pipe,
 3. said unitary body having an upper portion, the lower end of which is joined in unitary relation with the upper end of said lower portion of said unitary, hollow body,
 4. said upper, unitary hollow body portion converging upwardly and inwardly from the juncture with said lower body portion, b. the upper end of said unitary hollow body portion having a hollow, cylindrical neck portion joined in unitary relation with the upper end of said upper body portion,
 1. said upper portion of said body being adapted to support a fitting for a man hole cover, c. an annular connecting ring fitted on the upper end of said cylindrical neck portion, d. a sleeve interfitted with said ring and extending upwardly to a position near the surface of the terrain, and e. a man hole cover flange fitted on the upper end of said sleeve.
 1. A unitary, reconstructed manhole body comprising; a. a unitary body, which body is hollow and is formed of moldable material,
 1. said unitary body having a lower portion, the lower portion of said unitary, hollow body being inclined upwardly and inwardly throughout the entire length thereof,
 1. said upper portion of said body being adapted to support a fitting for a man hole cover, c. an annular connecting ring fitted on the upper end of said cylindrical neck portion, d. a sleeve interfitted with said ring and extending upwardly to a position near the surface of the terrain, and e. a man hole cover flange fitted on the upper end of said sleeve.
 2. A unitary, preconstructed manhole body as defined in claim 1; wherein a. said lower body portion, said upper neck portion and said converging portion between the lower body portion and the cylindrical neck portion have reinforcing material therein.
 2. the lower portion of said unitary, hollow body being open and having opposed notched formed therein to straddle a pipe,
 3. said unitary body having an upper portion, the lower end of which is joined in unitary relation with the upper end of said lower portion of said unitary, hollow body,
 3. A unitary, preconstructed manhole body as defined in claim 1; wherein a. said lower portion of said hollow boDy and said converging portion between said lower body portion and said neck postion being polygonal in cross section, with said lower body portion and said converging portion adapted to receive other manhole body portions in nested relation.
 4. A unitary, preconstructed manhole body as defined in claim 1; wherein a. said unitary, molded, hollow body is molded of plastic reinforced with fiber glass.
 4. said upper, unitary hollow body portion converging upwardly and inwardly from the juncture with said lower body portion, b. the upper end of said unitary hollow body portion having a hollow, cylindrical neck portion joined in unitary relation with the upper end of said upper body portion,
 5. A unitary, preconstructed manhole body as defined in claim 2; wherein a. said unitary, molded body is of concrete. 